Official Summary Text
SB 493, as amended, Becker.
District agricultural associations: secretary-managers: compensation.
Unlawful business practices: price gouging.
Under existing law, upon the proclamation of a state of emergency by the President of the United States or the Governor, or upon the declaration of a local emergency by the governing authority of any county, city, or city and county, and for 30 days or 180 days, as specified, following the proclamation or declaration of emergency and any period the proclamation or declaration is extended by the applicable authority, it is a misdemeanor for any person, business, or other entity to sell or offer to sell specified goods and services for a price of more than 10% greater than the price charged by that entity for those goods or services immediately prior to the proclamation or declaration of emergency or prior to a date set in the proclamation or declaration. Existing law also makes related protections against
eviction. Existing law defines “state of emergency” for these purposes as a natural or manmade emergency resulting from an earthquake, flood, fire, riot, storm, drought, plant or animal infestation or disease, pandemic or epidemic disease outbreak, or other natural or manmade disaster for which a state of emergency has been declared by the President of the United States or the Governor, and a “local emergency” as any of the above-described disasters for which a local emergency has been declared by an official, board, or other governing body vested with authority to make that declaration in any county, city, or city and county in California.
This bill would additionally include war, as defined, to the above-described disasters. By expanding the application of an existing crime to additional circumstances, the bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law governs the apportionment of state funds to fairs within the network of California fairs, which includes, in general, the California Exposition and State Fair, district agricultural association fairs, county fairs, and citrus fruit fairs. Existing law authorizes consideration of the classification of a fair seeking an apportionment of state funds when determining compensation for the fair’s manager. Existing law requires the Department of Food and Agriculture to annually review and maintain a separate and accurate job description for each fair manager, solicit information from each fair board of directors that will accurately describe the fair manager’s performance and responsibilities in regard to merit salary increases for its fair manager, and report its findings to fair directors and fair managers.
This bill would revise and
recast the determination of the compensation for fair managers by, among other things, doing all of the following: (1) renaming those fair managers as secretary-managers of district agricultural associations; (2) transferring the duty to fix the compensation for a secretary-manager, in an amount that is reasonably appropriate, to the Secretary of Food and Agriculture; (3) requiring the secretary to set a single salary range for the compensation of a secretary-manager and, in determining the salary range, on or before January 1, 2027, and every 3 years thereafter, to conduct a salary survey of other state, regional, and local positions in similar industries and other relevant labor pools if the secretary receives funds from the fair industry for that purpose; (4) until the first survey, requiring the compensation for a secretary-manager to remain within certain existing ranges, regardless of fair classification; and (5) after the first survey, prohibiting the maximum salary limit of the salary range for a
secretary-manager from exceeding the highest salary for a position comparable to a secretary-manager, as determined by the most recent survey, except for specifically required cost-of-living increases and authorized merit increases and increases for secretary-managers managing multiple districts.